Almost
by Obsidian And Cobalt
Summary: Sleepness nights and secrets, but never speaking such truths. Maybe it's the wise thing to do.


_**I don't own Kannazuki no miko  
I'm going through a fad...Hooked on writing knm XD Well, I found a lovely gory zombie movie, downed some hot chocolate, and am now in the mood to write some yuri 8D Enjoy! ~**__**  
**__**  
A rock and a hard place  
**_Kurusugawa Himeko surpressed a sigh. It wasn't an tiresome sigh, nor one of aggravation or displeasure, it was pure and utter exhaustion. The day had been draining, and the idea of a warm bed had never seemed quite so alluring. The hot bath water surrounding her in contrast to the freezing night outside was only serving to make her more relaxed and craving for the simple comfort.

The sigh escaped as soap lathered hands slid down her back, rubbing the bare skin soothingly during their descent before coming to rest at her sides and drawing her back to rest against a soft body. Arms encircled her waist from their, holding her close as fingers interlocked themselves across her abdomen.

"Chikane chan?" As she questioned the actions, her voice was low, and she feared she may have been falling asleep where she sat.

As if in reply, the girl behind her nuzzled into her freshly washed hair. "Could you stay with me tonight? You're very warm."

The statement was certainly an odd one, but the answer was clear as Himeko leaned back against her contently, humming slightly in affirment. It appeared that neither of them wished to leave the bath house anytime soon. In the silence that fell apon them, it was easy to hear that outside, the mixture of hail stones and heavy rain was still falling in a great abundance from the night sky. There was no doubt that the chilling temperature that accompanied the dire weather was still lurking outside.

However, it was not only the busy day of school and out-running the rain whilst changing classes that had Himeko so tired. It wasn't even the sudden change in humidity that had occured when entering the baths that had caused the craving for sleep. For the past month, she had been caught between a rock and a hard place, utterly unsure of what to do with herself. Unable to sleep properly since then, she guessed that the sleepless nights were catching up with her.

It wasn't so much the curiousity that was keeping her awake, more so the worry.

The questions.

What was she to do? Was she suspected? What would happen if she _was_ found out? Should she allow herself to be found out? Should she tell and join the ranks of the many others that had done so, but had alas been unsuccessful, but hope that she would be successful?

Too many questions.

Too wound up to think efficiently.

Too tired.

She slouched fully backwards, savouring the feel of being so close to the other girl without the confindment of clothing.

She could tell. But then things like this were doubtful to happen ever again. Moments of strange, unexpected contact...Almost intimacy. She had to bite her lip to hold back a moan that came from no where, the teasing feeling of a soft, well endowed chest pressing into her shoulder blades suddenly becoming much more tantalizing.

A soft chuckle, followed by the sounds of water lightly striking against the walls of the bath. Warm breath brushed against her ear. "Open you eyes, it isn't safe to fall asleep in the baths."

Himeko blinked, much to her surprise finding that her eyes had in fact been closed, and that she was indeed falling asleep. The hold around her waist tightened further. The other girl's breathing tickled her neck. "Shall we head to bed? You seem quite sleepy."

Releasing her from the gentle yet protective hold, Chikane slid away from her without waiting for a reply.

Himeko sat up straight, lifting her hands from under the water and rubbing her eyes. Covering her mouth as she yawned, she glanced behind her to see where the girl had went. Already beginning to towel herself dry, Chikane caught her eye and gave her the usual secretive, and strangly intriguing smile of hers. She looked away after a moment, aware that the likelihood that there was more of a little colour was staining her cheeks was quite plausible. Pulling herself to the edge of the bath and climbing out herself, she grabbed a towel of her own and tried to wake up for the time being.

Her attempts to wake up were quite useless, for even when she was pulling her pyjama's on, she found her eyes closing mid-way through buttoning her shirt.

"You really are tired tonight...Have you been sleeping well recently?" The cheerful spark in Chikane's eyes dulled slightly and her expression grew slightly worried. "Is there something bothering you?"

She shook her head, battling back another yawn. "No, I'm fine...It's just been a long day and I...Um, didn't get much sleep last night, I was up studying!" Trying to inject some zest into her voice was not working. And why did she lie? Lying wasn't her strong point. She knew that.

Chikane arched an eyebrow at the blatant lie and strange behaviour.

"Really!" Himeko insisted.

Luckily, her friend didn't press her for a true answer though she clearly didn't believe it. Instead, she walked to the door and slid it open, jerking her head back.

"Gods, it's getting worse out there."

Needless to say, it was quite an eventful run back to the manor.

Running her hands through her hair and shaking out the worst of the sleet, Chikane started up the stairs, quite liking the idea of a warm bed to shelter her from the terrible weather. Not to mention, her flippant and perhaps just a bit ostentatious request to share a bed with her beloved had been granted, much to her surprise. She had no trouble admitting that she was shocked at herself for saying such a thing in such a flirtatious way. Though, she was still thankful that Himeko was too preoccupied with keeping her eyes open to notice.

Behind her, Himeko tried to perk up and match her pace, amazed at how so very tired she was. If she needed sleep so badly, shouldn't she have been able to have fall into a slumber the previous night? She would have thought so, but those questions were relentless. Wait...A small frown formed on her lips. Was it a delusion, or did she in fact get an invitation to spend the night with Chikane? Her brow furrowed. `You're very warm.' Had she heard correctly? What type of a thing was that to say? Maybe it was meant to be a compliment. It hadn't taken her long to realize that Chikane could be quite clumsy in voicing out her thoughts...With that in mind, maybe it was a compliment.

The flirtatious tone of voice must have been her imagination.

The low creaking of her friend pushing her bedroom door brought her back into reality. Piercing indigo eyes caught her own, looking inquisitive. "Do you still want to stay with me tonight?"

She found herself nodding dumbly without really thinking too far into the situation. Those eyes lit up.

Ironically, she was wide awake within the next few minutes. She stared at the ceiling, before her pulse quickened. Beside her, Chikane slipped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her in closer. "You've been very quiet tonight..."

Himeko tensed for a moment, before daring to snuggle closer to the other girl.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

"I'm fine, just tired...Honest..." She wasn't fooling Chikane, nor was she convincing herself. Instead, she turned on her side and boldly nuzzled into the girl's neck, almost hiding there.

"...Well, if you're sure...Just try to sleep well tonight, okay?" Her answer was Himeko clutching her around the waist, fingers curling into the fabric of her nightdress. She smiled, a non-forced, true smile at the simple matter of how very adorable her beloved was. Despite the heat creeping up her neck - thankfully unnoticable in the darkness – Chikane had never been more at ease in her life as she was right then. Closing her eyes, she rested her chin atop of her friend's head.

Regardless that she had been rendered fully awake minutes before, Himeko found that the vague smell of soap from the baths mixed with the vanilla like scent that was simply _her_ radiating from Chikane was slowly but steadily lulling her to sleep. The howling wind and sleet like substance hitting the outside window nosily was mildly annoying, though the warmth of the other girl soon distracted her from that.

"Goodnight, Himeko." It was whispered softly into her hair as she was embraced closer.

She smiled widely, already feeling herself beginning to slip away into the realm of dreams.

Yes, she _could_ tell.

And maybe - for the sake of honesty - she should.

But then moments like this would be rare.

Almost intimacy.

Almost. That was enough for her.

She was falling asleep. Almost.

"Goodnight, Chikane chan."

_**This was really uneventful for me...Nobody even stole a kiss XD How strange. Then again, I'm in a weird mood~ Reviews are still loved, even for random stories filled with fluff \(^o^)/ Laterz, guys!  
-Obsidian  
X3**_


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